We know that according to God’s Word, denying Christ is a serious offense. While we may believe that we would never come out and declare, “I don’t know who Jesus is” the way that Peter did on the night of His arrest, there are other ways that we deny Christ, often without even meaning to. When we recognize the areas in our lives where we deny Christ, we can take the steps to change those behaviors.
Matthew 10:33 (TPT)
But if you publicly deny that you know me, I will also deny you before my heavenly Father.
Can you imagine what Peter felt like when Jesus told Him that Peter would deny being a disciple? We actually don’t even have to imagine, as Saint Matthew’s Gospel recaps the conversation for us. Jesus told the disciples that all of them would abandon Him when He got arrested, and Peter, always one to share his thoughts, announced, “Even if all the rest lose their faith and fall away, I will still be beside you, Jesus!” (Matthew 26:33).
The conversation intensified when Jesus told Peter that not only would he deny Him, but that Peter would deny knowing three times before the sun rose the next morning. Peter’s final response to Jesus’ prophesy sounds like something we would say if we were confronted with the same thing.
Matthew 26:35 (TPT)
Peter replied, I absolutely will never deny you, even if I have to die with you!” And all the others said the same thing.
None of the disciples believed that they would abandon Jesus in His greatest moment of need. Peter certainly never believed that he would deny even knowing who Jesus was. However, everything happened exactly the way that Jesus said it would. With the exception of John who comforted Jesus’ mother at the cross, the other disciples scattered. Judas betrayed Christ and eventually hung himself, Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was and actually cursed at the people who were confronting him, and the other nine disciples were nowhere to be seen until the morning of the first Easter.
Peter gets a bad rap on a lot of what goes on in this story. We’ve often pointed at Peter through the lens of self-righteousness because we know that we would never behave that way. Well, we don’t think we would behave that way. In the same way that we call Thomas “Doubting Thomas” because of a single misstep along the way, we spend a lot of time looking at Peter’s denials and allow ourselves to assume a position of superiority.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but we’ve all denied Christ at some point or another. We may not verbally tell a crowd of people that we don’t know who He is, but we’ve all presented our relationship with Christ as less than what it is before. Understanding when we’ve denied Christ and how we’ve gone about distancing ourselves from Him allows us to better understand what we don’t want to do going forward.
We Deny Christ with Our Finances
Malachi 3:8 (ESV)
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.
One of the most significant ways that we deny Christ is when we fail to trust Him with our finances. While there is a great deal of debate the surrounds the topic of tithing, that’s not the focus of what we’re talking about today. God told the Old Testament prophet, Malachi that the people were robbing God. They didn’t understand how they were robbing God, so God answered the question for them. They were robbing Him through their lack of financial contributions.
Again, this isn’t about whether or not the New Testament Church that we are parts of are required to put 10% of our income into the local church. Instead, the important part of serving God with our finances is simply found in trusting Him with the thing that causes most of us the greatest amount of stress.
Take a look at something else that God said to Malachi about money:
Malachi 3:10 (ESV)
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
This is the only time in Scripture where we are told to test God. However, God attaches a promise to the offer for us to test Him with our finances. If we trust Him with our money and don’t deny Him, He will “open up Heaven’s windows” and pour out such a blessing that we will no longer experience need.
We Deny Christ with Our Actions
Galatians 5:19-21 (TPT)
The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in our way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!
You’ve probably heard it said that actions speak louder than words. When a saying has been around for as long as that one has, it’s often because it’s true. One of the most dangerous ways that we deny Christ is through our actions. Take a moment and think about how many different people see you throughout the day. You probably don’t have one-on-one conversations with all of them, but all of them see you.
What kind of behaviors are you exhibiting? The passage of Scripture that we just read is referred to as the Works of the Flesh. Conversely, a few verses later, we get to a portion of Scripture known as the Fruits of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (TPT)
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
When people around you see more of the behaviors from the first list than the second, you’re denying Christ through your actions. Commit to exhibiting behaviors from the second list, and you won’t be in danger of denying Christ.
We Deny Christ Through Our Words
Luke 6:44-45 (TPT)
Every tree will be revealed by the quality of fruit that it produces. Figs or grapes will never be picked off thorn trees. People are known in this same way. Out of the virtue stored in their hearts, good and upright people will produce good fruit. But out of the evil hidden in their hearts, evil ones will produce what is evil. For the overflow of what has been stored in your heart will be seen by your fruit and will be heard in your words.
Finally, the Bible teaches us that we can deny Christ without coming out and saying, “I don’t even know Him” like Peter did. When you are quick to lash out at people around you, ready to yell at anyone who you believe has wronged you and spend more time trying to be heard than you spend trying to listen and understand others, it’s a form of denying Christ through your words.
Make sure that your words are being used to encourage others. No, you may not come out and blatantly deny Christ, but words can be a tool used for encouragement or destruction. The choice is yours.
A Closing Prayer:
Lord, help me to never deny You in any aspect of my life. Instead, I want to entrust You with every part of my life so people around me will see Your hand at work in my life. In Christ’s name, Amen.